“Mr. Putin”, with the series 2017869-2021, achieved, this season, the performance of becoming the winner of the Western Province 1st place and the national 5th place within the Gold Club, with a total of 13.62 points. The pigeon belongs to the well-known Daniel Burciu, from Dumbrăvița, Timiș county, pigeon fancier who, throughout his career, has won several national titles in various distance categories. “I have been competing with racing pigeons for 30 years, becoming also Master Emeritus of pigeon sport. Over the years I have competed in all categories, including National Ace, where I have obtained four national champion titles, both in Pigeons and in Fanciers competition. Starting with the 2022 season, I focused only on the Long Distance and Marathon categories”, Daniel Burciu revealed to us.

A cock with personality

As for the pigeon with the series 2017869-2021, who assured the fancier his presence on the stage of the Gala of Champions in February, in Brașov, he got his name thanks to his strong personality, being described by Daniel Burciu as a “invading”. “It’s called “Mr. Putin” because of his permanent tendencies to attack the territories close to his nestbox. He is a pigeon that has as its genetic base a multitude of famous lines. His father is an original Raoul and Xavier Verstraete pigeon and his mother is a combination of Janssen, Van Loon, Koopman, Vandenabele lines. His mother is a hen created by me, she has three good brothers who have bred several national and provincial champions in various distance categories, being formidable racers from 100 to 750 air kilometers. “Mr. Putin” is a first cousin, from the mother’s side, with the 1st national place in the Speed Yearlings category in 2018, the 1st national place in the 2018 National Ace Yearlings category, the 1st national place in the Olympic G category and the 3rd place in the Olympic Poznan 2019. Including the winners of the 1st, 2nd, 5, 6, 7 counties, within Club Gold, this season, they are also his first cousins. The pigeon was raced as a widower, and noting his continued intentions to gain territories adjacent to his box, I speculated on this by letting him enter the adjacent box as well, where he constantly, on returning from the race, found the same pigeon, which I stopped him at home specifically to motivate him.
In 2022, he missed the last long-distance stage, after he obtained the best score in Romania as a yearling from the first four long-distance races, being the only yearling to get a sticker for the Ace Long Distance Yearlings category”, said Daniel Burciu, who added that “Mr. Putin” will also be competed in the 2023 season.

“With this regulation you can make the difference between the Gold Long distance and the Gold Marathon pigeon”

Attracted by the competition since the beginning, Daniel Burciu says that the regulation that was applied this season within the Gold Club was the most correct. “I believe that the initiative to establish this project was auspicious due to the spirit of competition it propagates and the value of the prizes awarded. The current regulation is the best in recent years. Through this regulation, the difference between Gold Long distance and Gold Marathon pigeons can be made. This national project is also a transparent and fair competition. I usually purchase between 30 and 50 rings annually. For the 2023 season, I purchased 15 rings for both categories, and for 2024, I am increasing the number to 50 Gold rings. I recommend to all those who have pigeons for these categories to purchase Gold rings to make this Club as professional and strong as possible”, stated the fancier from Banat.